Skyy – Special Case

Skyy is a very special patient of ours and her parents have been extremely committed to her care and treatment. Her story begins not long after having a cruciate ligament surgery repair when she began losing weight. Investigations and finally intestinal biopsies revealed a condition called inflammatory bowel disease. Treatment was initiated but in spite of this Skyy continued to lose a lot of weight in the face of a ferocious appetite. Further tests and even more tests were done with an eventual test called a TLI test for pancreatic insufficiency (where the pancreas does not produce enough enzymes to digest food). This was also normal. Referral to an internal medicine specialist still did not turn up any clues.

Dr Wayne Shipham then began treatment based on a rare “hunch” and “gut feel” that Skyy’s age, appetite, general health and previously diagnosed IBD could have resulted in a very rare side effect where the duct that carries the pancreatic enzymes becomes inflamed and blocked and thus in spite of the pancreas producing enough digestive enzymes, these just cannot make their way into the small intestine. Skyy was started on synthetic pancreatic enzyme capsules and slowly started putting on weight. It took a few months of treatment and vitamin injections but Skyy eventually made her way back to her normal weight. Everyone at Drovers is always excited to see her – she has such an amazing and loveable nature and thanks to amazing owners and the dedication of all our staff to a relentless search for answers and persistence, she is now back to full health.